What Can I Do?
by Joseph Haney
Summary: Cassie fills Scott in on what life has been like since the snap, and Scott decides to see if there's anything that can be done to fix things. Deleted scene from Avengers: Endgame (also minor spoilers if you haven't seen it yet)


Scott Lang sat at the kitchen table in Maggie and Jim's house, staring at the can of soda on the table in front of him, his mind reeling as he attempted to process what Cassie had told him.

"Dad?" Cassie said, looking at him over her own soda can, her voice stirring him from his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, straightening up and clearing his throat. "Yeah, I'm…I'm fine."

Cassie let out a small laugh. "You're still a terrible liar," she said. "It's okay if you're not fine. I know it's a lot to process."

"That's an understatement," Scott said. Taking a deep breath, he tried to gather his thoughts. "I just…I can't believe it."

Cassie gave an understanding nod. "I know the feeling," she said. "It's been five years and I still wake up expecting to hear mom yelling at me about being late for school, or Jim swearing because he burned his bagel again." A small smile crossed her face at the memory, but it disappeared just as quickly. "Then I remember that they're gone," she said. After a moment, she took a deep breath and finished her drink

Scott reached over and laid his hand gently over hers. "Peanut…" He trailed off, at a loss for words. He had no idea what to say, how to make her feel better…or, worst of all, if he even could.

Cassie looked up at him, the smile returning. "It's alright," she said. "I mean…it's not, but after five years, it's kind of the new normal."

"Still…I wish I could have been here for you," Scott said. "You shouldn't have had to do so much growing up on your own."

Cassie shook her head as she stood. "Dad, for all we know, you being in the quantum realm was what kept you from being turned to dust, too," she said. "Besides," she continued as she walked toward the kitchen sink, "I wasn't entirely alone. I had friends, and the parents of friends to look after me. Plus my support group."

She said it so matter-of-factly, but the words sent Scott reeling all over again. "Support group?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cassie replied, her tone clearly indicating that she regretted saying it. "I'm…I'm in a support group. Help run it, actually. Me and a few other kids got together a couple of years back and organized it. It's for people my age, who were just kids when it happened." She shrugged as she turned around to face him. "I don't know, it seemed like a better use of time than just sitting around here, feeling sorry for myself."

Scott sat quietly, studying his daughter as he tried to process what she'd said. It was only now starting to dawn on him how much she had truly grown up since he'd seen her last. Not just in age, but in her maturity. She was fifteen years old, but she was wise beyond her years. It made him proud to see her like this. Or it would have, if thinking of the circumstances that had led her to this didn't turn his stomach.

His concern must have shown on his face, because Cassie made her way back over to him, sitting down and leaning in close, putting her hand over his. "Listen, Dad…I'm okay. Or at least as okay as I can be, under the circumstances. I know how it probably sounds, me having a support group, but honestly, just about everyone has a support group these days. Between half the therapists disappearing and the entire world coming down with a collective case of PTSD –"

"If you're trying to make me feel better," Scott interrupted, "you need to work on your sales pitch."

Cassie bit back a small laugh. "Fair enough," she said. "What I'm trying to say, is that…as bad as it might sound, being in a group has really helped me deal with everything."

Scott nodded, forcing a smile. "I get it," he said. "I guess, if I'm being honest, I'd be more worried if you were trying to handle all this on your own."

Cassie nodded, taking a deep breath. She glanced toward the clock, checking the time. "Speaking of handling it, my group's meeting tonight, and…well, I should really go."

"Oh," Scott said, feeling a bit hurt.

"But I can stay," she added quickly. "If you don't want to be alone, and I'd get it if you don't, I can call…one of the other organizers and have them run things."

Scott shook his head. "No, you should go," he said. "I'll be alright for a little while. I'll just…find a way to occupy my time. I think I'll start by trying to organize a support group for people who got stuck in the quantum realm while the world went to hell," he joked.

"Whatever helps you pass the time," Cassie said with a small grin.

There was a knock on the door a moment later, causing Cassie to practically jump to her feet. "That's probably my ride," she said, moving out of the kitchen and toward the door. Scott stood and followed her, leaving the kitchen as she reached the door, opening it to reveal a blonde teenage girl, roughly Cassie's age. Cassie stepped out of the door, closing it behind her.

Scott moved to the living room window, watching the two of them get into a blue sedan and driving off. He tried not to feel offended that Cassie had rushed off like that. After all, having your dad who you thought had disappeared with everyone else come back would probably be tricky to explain to someone working through their own trauma over what happened.

He let out a sigh and sank into a chair and, for the first time, truly made an effort to take stock of his current situation. As far as his brain could tell, it was only a few hours since he'd entered the quantum realm, and yet…here he was, five years later, with nearly everyone he cared about gone.

_This must be what Marty McFly felt like in Back to the Future two,_ he thought with a sigh.

It was initially meant as a passing thought, but something about the comparison to time travel stuck with Scott over the next few hours. If time worked differently in the quantum realm, was it possible to go through it to the past? He reached for his phone to call Hope, only to be smacked in the face by reality again. Without the only people he knew who had any amount of expertise on the quantum realm, he needed another alternative. He needed to talk to the Avengers.

He went upstairs to the master bedroom, grabbing one of Jim's duffle bag's and throwing a couple changes of clothes into it. After doing that and gathering other necessities for the trip, he found some paper and sat down to write a note to Cassie explaining where he'd gone. It took him several drafts before he was even remotely satisfied with what he'd written, but once he was, he grabbed the bag and walked out of the house to retrieve the van from the storage place.

He was just stepping out of the house when, much to his surprise, the van drove up and parked across the street from the house. His jaw dropped as he saw Cassie behind the wheel.

"When did you learn how to drive?" he asked as she got out of the van.

"I've been taking lessons," she replied with a small grin. "I'm not a kid anymore, remember?" Her eyes drifted toward the bag in his hand, the smile fading from her face.

"Really dad?" Cassie asked, looking back up to her father. "You weren't going to wait for me to get back? You were just gonna leave without saying goodbye?"

"I left a note," Scott said, though as soon as he said it, he knew it wasn't anywhere close to the right response. That notion was confirmed when Cassie gave him a 'don't give me that crap' look, the same one he'd gotten more than a few times from Maggie. Cassie's wasn't as harsh as her mother's could be, but it got the point across.

Scott took a deep breath and walked toward the van. "I know you're probably going to hate me for this, but this is something I have to do," he said.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Come on Dad, I don't hate you. I know you well enough to know that you're going to do whatever you can to try to fix this." She gave a small shrug. "I guess I just…hoped you'd stick around longer."

Scott nodded. "That's fair," he said. "A big part of me hates running out on you…again. But if I don't go and try to help...I might not leave at all."

Cassie nodded. "I know," she said. "Doesn't make this easier. And, honestly, do you really think there's a way to undo this? I mean…no offense, but if there was, don't you think someone would have thought of it by now?"

"I don't know," Scott said. "But…I have a theory. Or the beginnings of a theory, at least. About time, and how it works differently in the quantum realm…" He shook his head. "If Hope or Dr. Pym were here, they might be able to help me make sense of it, but since they're not…My best bet is probably Tony Stark." He took a deep breath. "Listen, Cassie…I know I've already missed out on a lot of your life. And I'm sorry to run out again as soon as you got me back, but –"

She held up her hand to cut him off. "I'm not mad. Honestly, I'd be mad at you if you decided not to go," she took a deep breath before continuing. "Just…promise me you'll come back after? No matter what happens, whether or not this works out…"She trailed off and he noticed tears forming in her eyes.

Scott quickly stepped toward Cassie, pulling her into a hug. "Of course I'm coming back, Peanut. One way or another, I'm always going to find a way back to you."

Cassie hugged him tightly and he returned the gesture. Neither of them seemed to want to let go, but they eventually did. With one final nod, Scott climbed into the van while Cassie stepped back toward the yard. Scott got the van started, and was about to drive off when Cassie stopped him.

"Wait," she said, turning and hurrying back into the house. She returned a moment later with something in her hand. It wasn't until she reached the van and held it up to him that he saw that it was the mildly terrifying looking stuffed rabbit he'd given her as a birthday gift a lifetime ago. "I couldn't bring myself to get rid of Harvey because he reminded me too much of you," she said. "I thought he might be able to keep you company on the road."

Scott smiled as he took the toy. "Thanks, Peanut," he said. He gave it a squeeze, only to find, much to his disappointment that it no longer spoke as it did when he bought it, though it's mouth still moved.

"Yeah, I kind of wore out the voice box," Cassie said with a small chuckle. "Which is a good thing, because for a while it was just making strange gargling noises."

Scott chuckled, putting the toy in the van's passenger seat before turning back to Cassie. "Hey," he said, leaning out of the window to make sure she could hear him. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do," she replied with a small smile. "I love you, too. Now go save the world, okay?"

Scott nodded and started driving away. As he turned the corner, Cassie finally disappearing from his sight, Scott glanced over his shoulder at the quantum gateway stowed in the back of the van, desperately wishing Hope could be with him for this But she wasn't. He was on his own. "You heard her, Harvey," he said, stealing glance at the toy before turning his attention to the road. "Let's go save the world."


End file.
